At present the clinician decides when the injured or diseased bone can resume normal unsupported function on the basis of physical examination, radiographs, the passage of time and patient evaluation of pain as a result of stress placed on the bone.
Vibrational analysis of bones has been used in the experimental environment for the examination of diseased and fractured bones and pathological orthopaedic disorders however the primary reason for the lack of acceptance of this method of bone analysis by clinicians has been the lack of reliability of the results. Most importantly the clinician has not been able to reliably assess from the results of tests when and if the bone under examination has regained structural integrity.
The lack of reliability and reproducibility of the prior vibrational analysis methods result from a number of factors identified by the inventors. These factors include insufficient range of excitation frequency, inappropriate excitation means, inconsistent detection and methodology of measurement, a lack of appreciation of the need to assess more than just one mode of excitation and the choice of unnecessarily complicated stiffness criteria for clinical evaluation.
Also of importance is the method of support provided to the bone under examination and the assessment of the effects of external or internal fixation devices which both contribute to the accuracy, reproducibility and practical clinical use of prior analysis methods and means.